Effects of Cooling and Flavoring Drinking Water on Psychological Performance in a Hot Environment

During exposure to a hot environment, unacclimatized soldiers may not voluntarily drink enough water to compensate for the loss of fluids. This study evaluated whether, with increased voluntary drinking (due to cooling and/or flavoring the drinking water), the soldier (a) will be less likely to report feelings of discomfort and symptoms of heat illness and (b) will also be better able to maintain his ability to perform psychomotor and cognitive tasks. On each of four test days in a heat chamber, eight subjects were permitted to drink ad lib only one of four beverages: cool water, warm water, cool flavored water, or warm flavored water. The subjects felt more uncomfortable and reported more symptoms of heat illness under the warm water conditions. Psychomotor performance (manual dexterity) and cognitive performance (logical reasoning) were significantly degraded under the warm water conditions but only after at least four hours of heat exposure. Flavoring the water had no effect on any of the measures. It is concluded that under hot weather conditions, degradation in psychological performance may be attenuated if soldiers are provided cool as opposed to warm drinking water.

Download Full-text

Motivation for Heat Adaption: How Perception and Exposure Affect Individual Behaviors During Hot Weather in Knoxville, Tennessee

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos10100591 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 591 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alisa L. Hass ◽

Kelsey N. Ellis

Keyword(s):

Health Effects ◽

Air Conditioning ◽

Public Perception ◽

Heat Exposure ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Health Issues ◽

Excessive Heat ◽

Normal Behavior ◽

Hot Weather ◽

Heat Vulnerability

Heat is the deadliest meteorological hazard; however, those exposed to heat often do not feel they are in danger of heat-health effects and do not take precautions to avoid heat exposure. Socioeconomic factors, such as the high cost of running air conditioning, might prevent people from taking adaption measures. We assessed via a mixed-methods survey how residents of urban Knoxville, Tennessee, (n = 86) describe and interpret their personal vulnerability during hot weather. Thematic analyses reveal that many respondents describe uncomfortably hot weather based on its consequences, such as health effects and the need to change normal behavior, which misaligns with traditional heat-communication measures using specific weather conditions. Only 55% of those who perceived excessive heat as dangerous cited health as a cause for concern. Respondents who have experienced health issues during hot weather were more likely to perceive heat as dangerous and take actions to reduce heat exposure. Social cohesion was not a chief concern for our respondents, even though it has been connected to reducing time-delayed heat-health effects. Results support using thematic analyses, an underutilized tool in climatology research, to improve understanding of public perception of atmospheric hazards. We recommend a multi-faceted approach to addressing heat vulnerability.

Download Full-text

Ambient Heat and Nerve Agent Antidotes: Effects on Soldier Performance with the Usariem Performance Inventory

Proceedings of the Human Factors Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1518/107118188786762676 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 32 (10) ◽

pp. 563-567 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Richard F. Johnson ◽

John L. Kobrick

Keyword(s):

Heat Exposure ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Nerve Agent ◽

Asymptotic Performance ◽

Placebo Condition ◽

Us Army ◽

Chemical Attack ◽

Visual Reaction ◽

Tropical Areas ◽

Hot Weather

The tactical significance of chemical weapons in future warfare demands that nerve agent antidotes be available for troops exposed to chemical attack. Since future combat operations will likely occur in desert and tropical areas, chemical attacks in such areas could lead to situations involving the use of nerve agent antidotes by troops during exposure to hot weather conditions. This study assessed, both independently and in combination, the effects of heat exposure (95°F, 60%RH) and US Army standard dosages of nerve agent antidotes (2 mg atropine and 600 mg 2-PAM chloride) on the performance of a variety of tasks selected from the USARIEM Performance Inventory (UPI). The UPI tasks selected for inclusion assessed sensory functioning, perceptual-cognitive functioning, sensorimotor skill, subjective reactions, and M16 rifle marksmanship. Fifteen soldier volunteers were first trained to asymptotic performance on the UPI task battery. Then, over a period of four test days, they completed a counterbalanced schedule of the drug/no drug and heat/no heat conditions while outfitted in the Battle Dress Uniform. On each test day, the tests from the UPI were administered once during each of the three 2-hour test cycles. Compared to the placebo condition, a single dose of nerve agent antidote significantly impaired soldier performance such that visual reaction time was 5 to 11% slower, gross body mobility was 12% poorer, rifle marksmanship (pop-up targets) was 3% less accurate, and verbal reasoning was 6% slower. Compared to the 70°F condition, the 95°F ambient condition significantly impaired soldier performance such that arm-hand steadiness was 10% poorer, manual dexterity was 2% poorer, and rifle marksmanship (tightness of shot group) was 13% less accurate. Nerve agent antidote and ambient heat did not interact to further impair soldier performance.

Download Full-text

Responses of broiler chicken to different oil levels within constant energy levels from 20 to 40 days of age under hot weather conditions

Italian Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1080/1828051x.2021.1906169 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 664-676

Author(s):

Youssef A. Attia ◽

Mohammed A. Al-Harthi ◽

Saber Sh. Hassan

Keyword(s):

Broiler Chicken ◽

Energy Levels ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Constant Energy ◽

Hot Weather

Download Full-text

Comparison of built environment adaptations to heat exposure and mortality during hot weather, West Midlands region, UK

Environment International ◽

10.1016/j.envint.2017.11.005 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

pp. 287-294 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Jonathon Taylor ◽

Paul Wilkinson ◽

Roberto Picetti ◽

Phil Symonds ◽

Clare Heaviside ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Heat Exposure ◽

West Midlands ◽

Hot Weather

Download Full-text

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): Accuracy of Natural Ventilation for Temperature, Air Flow Rate and Relative Humidity (RH) in School Building Classrooms

International Journal of Engineering & Technology ◽

10.14419/ijet.v7i3.9.15271 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (3.9) ◽

pp. 42

Author(s):

Norsafiah Norazman ◽

Adi Irfan Che Ani ◽

Nor Haslina Ja’afar ◽

Muhamad Azry Khoiry

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Natural Ventilation ◽

Air Flow ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Potential Health ◽

The Hours ◽

Hot Weather

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is an essential matter in achieving students’ satisfaction for the learning process. Building’s orientation is a factor that may encourage sufficient natural ventilation for the classroom occupants. Inadequate ventilation is an issue for most existing classrooms. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the accuracy of natural ventilation in classrooms. Therefore, experimental on 20 classrooms has been conducted by using Multipurpose Meter at secondary school buildings in Malaysia. The findings indicated that the accuracy of natural ventilation testing was below the permissible limits throughout the hours monitored, thus this may cause potential health hazards to the students. Temperature and air flow rates were lower than 23 °C and 0.15 m/s respectively, it fulfilled the basic requirements as a standard learning environment. However, measurements taken showed the overall relative humidity (RH) in the classrooms can be categorized as acceptable with 40% to 70% range. On the basis of these findings, it is evident that naturally ventilated classrooms are important especially due to energy efficiency, whereas mechanical ventilation should only be installed as an alternative under extremely hot weather conditions.

Download Full-text

Heat stress induces ultrastructural changes in cutaneous capillary wall of heat-acclimated rock pigeon

AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpregu.1999.277.4.r967 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 277 (4) ◽

pp. R967-R974 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yehuda Arieli ◽

Neomi Feinstein ◽

Pnina Raber ◽

Michal Horowitz ◽

Jacob Marder

Keyword(s):

Heat Stress ◽

Heat Exposure ◽

Ultrastructural Changes ◽

Water Evaporation ◽

Adrenergic Agonist ◽

Hot Environment ◽

Adrenergic Antagonist ◽

Cooling Mechanism ◽

Cutaneous Evaporation ◽

Endothelial Gaps

In heat-acclimated rock pigeons, cutaneous water evaporation is the major cooling mechanism when exposed at rest to an extremely hot environment of 50–60°C. This evaporative pathway is also activated in room temperature by a β-adrenergic antagonist (propranolol) or an α-adrenergic agonist (clonidine) and inhibited by a β-adrenergic agonist (isoproterenol). In contrast, neither heat exposure nor drug administration activates cutaneous evaporation in cold-acclimated pigeons. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, we studied the role of the ultrastructure and permeability of the cutaneous vasculature. During both heat stress and the administration of propranolol and clonidine, we observed increased capillary fenestration and endothelial gaps. Similarly, propranolol increased the extravasation of Evans blue-labeled albumin in the skin tissue. We concluded that heat acclimation reinforces a mechanism by which the activation of adrenergic signal transduction pathways alters microvessel permeability during heat stress. Consequently the flux of plasma proteins and water into the interstitial space is accelerated, providing an interstitial source of water for sustained cutaneous evaporative cooling.

Download Full-text

Fresh, Durability and Mechanical Behavior of Self Consolidating Concrete Incorporating Fly Ash and Admixture under Hot Weather

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.904.453 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 904 ◽

pp. 453-457

Author(s):

Samer Al Martini ◽

Reem Sabouni ◽

Abdel Rahman Magdy El-Sheikh

Keyword(s):

Compressive Strength ◽

Fly Ash ◽

Water Absorption ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Chloride Penetration ◽

The Self ◽

Fresh Properties ◽

Self Consolidating Concrete ◽

Slump Flow ◽

Hot Weather

The self-consolidating concrete (SCC) become the material of choice by concrete industry due to its superior properties. However, these properties need to be verified under hot weather conditions. The paper investigates the behavior of SCC under hot weather. Six SCC mixtures were prepared under high temperatures. The SCC mixtures incorporated polycarboxylate admixture at different dosages and prolonged mixed for up to 2 hours at 30 °C and 40 °C. The cement paste was replaced with 20% of fly ash (FA). The fresh properties were investigated using slump flow, T50, and VSI tests. The compressive strength was measured at 3, 7, and 28 days. The durability of SCC mixtures was evaluated by conducting rapid chloride penetration and water absorption tests.

Download Full-text

P135: Administrative codes for heat illness: a validation study in Ontario, Canada

CJEM ◽

10.1017/cem.2020.339 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (S1) ◽

pp. S113-S113

Author(s):

H. Baassiri ◽

T. Varghese ◽

M. Columbus ◽

K. Clemens ◽

J. Yan

Keyword(s):

Gold Standard ◽

Heat Stroke ◽

Heat Exposure ◽

Sample Size Calculation ◽

Physical Exertion ◽

International Classification Of Diseases ◽

Administrative Database ◽

Heat Illness ◽

Predictive Values ◽

Icd 10

Introduction: Extreme heat events due to climate change are becoming increasingly frequent and severe, and may have an impact on human health. Administrative database studies using International Classification of Diseases 10th revision codes (ICD-10) are powerful tools to measure the burden of acute heat illness (AHI) in Canada. We aimed to assess the validity of the coding algorithm for emergency department (ED) encounters for AHI in our region. Methods: Two independent reviewers retrospectively abstracted data from 507 medical records of patients presenting at two EDs in Ontario between May-September 2015-2018. The Gold Standard definition of an AHI is chart-documented heat exposure with a heat related complaint, such as syncope while working outdoors on a hot day. To determine ICD coding algorithm positive predictive value (PPV), records that were previously coded as ICD-10 heat illnesses were compared to the Gold Standard for AHI. To determine sensitivity (Sn), specificity (Sp) and negative predictive values (NPV), the Gold Standard was compared to randomly selected records. A total of 326,702 ED visits were included in study period with 208 having an ICD-10 code related to heat illness. Sample size calculation demonstrated a need to manually review 62 previously coded heat illnesses and 931 random cases, of which 50 and 474 have been reviewed, respectively. In both abstractions, 20% of cases underwent a blinded duplicate review. Results: In our review of 474 random records, 2 cases were identified as AHI but without an appropriate ICD-10 code, 445 were not AHIs, and no cases had been identified as having an AHI ICD-10 inappropriately applied. In our review of 50 previously coded heat illnesses, 34 were found to be appropriately coded and 16 inappropriately coded, as AHI ICD-10. Average patient age and gender of heat illness vs non-heat illness ED presentations were 32 and 48 years of age and 49% and 64% male, respectively. The leading complaint in AHI was heat stroke/exhaustion (39%), followed by headaches (15%), dizziness (9%), shortness of breath (9%) and syncope/presyncope (6%). 76% of all heat illness presentations presented following a period of physical exertion. Conclusion: Final calculation of Sn, Sp, PPV, NPV for the algorithm will occur upon completion of the review. Preliminary results suggest that ICD-10 coding for AHI may be applied correctly in the ED. This study will help to determine if administrative data can accurately be used to measure the burden of heat illness in Canada.

Download Full-text